Parodos
[Episode]
What's the matter?
Leader of the Chorus
Take them off to dine well and call your mate, the melodious Procne, whose songs are worthy of the Muses;
she will delight our leisure moments.
660
Pisthetaerus
Oh! I conjure you, accede to their wish; for this delightful bird will leave her rushes at the sound of your voice;
for the sake of the gods, let her come here, so that we may contemplate the nightingale.
Epops
Let it be as you desire. Come forth, Procne, show yourself to these strangers.
665
Pisthetaerus
Oh! great Zeus! what a beautiful little bird! what a dainty form! what brilliant plumage!
Do you know how dearly I should like to get between her thighs?
Euelpides
She is dazzling all over with gold, like a young girl.
670
Oh! how I should like to kiss her!
Pisthetaerus
Why, wretched man, she has two little sharp points on her beak!
Euelpides
I would treat her like an egg, the shell of which we remove before eating it; I would take off her mask and then kiss her pretty face.
Pisthetaerus
Lead the way, and may success attend us.
Epops goes into the thicket, followed by Pisthetaerus and Euelpides.
675
[Parabasis]
Lovable golden bird, whom I cherish above all others, you, whom I associate with all my songs, nightingale,
Chorus
you have come, you have come, to show yourself to me and to charm me with your notes. Come, you, who play spring melodies upon the harmonious flute, lead off our anapests.
680
Leader of the Chorus
Weak mortals, chained to the earth, creatures of clay as frail as the foliage of the woods, you unfortunate race, whose life is but darkness, as unreal as a shadow, the illusion of a dream, hearken to us, who are immortal beings, ethereal, ever young and occupied with eternal thoughts, for we shall teach you about all celestial matters;
685
you shall know thoroughly what is the nature of the birds, what the origin of the gods, of the rivers, of Erebus, and Chaos; thanks to us, even Prodicus will envy you your knowledge.
690
At the beginning there was only Chaos, Night, dark Erebus, and deep Tartarus. Earth, the air and heaven had no existence.
Firstly, blackwinged Night laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Erebus, and from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Eros with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest. He mated in deep Tartarus with dark Chaos, winged like himself, and thus hatched forth our race, which was the first to see the light.
695
That of the Immortals did not exist until Eros had brought together all the ingredients of the world, and from their marriage Heaven, Ocean, Earth and the imperishable race of blessed gods sprang into being. Thus our origin is very much older than that of the dwellers in Olympus. We are the offspring of Eros; there are a thousand proofs to show it. We have wings and we lend assistance to lovers.
700
How many handsome youths, who had sworn to remain insensible, have opened their thighs because of our power and have yielded themselves to their lovers when almost at the end of their youth, being led away by the gift of a quail, a waterfowl, a goose, or a cock.
705
Chorus
And what important services do not the birds render to mortals! First of all, they mark the seasons for them, springtime, winter, and autumn.
Does the screaming crane migrate to Libya, —it warns the husbandman to sow, the pilot to take his ease beside his tiller hung up in his dwelling, and Orestes to weave a tunic, so that the rigorous cold may not drive him any more to strip other folk. When the kite reappears, he tells of the return of spring and of the period when the fleece of the sheep must be clipped. Is the swallow in sight?
710
All hasten to sell their warm tunic and to buy some light clothing. We are your Ammon, Delphi, Dodona, your Phoebus Apollo. Before undertaking anything, whether a business transaction, a marriage, or the purchase of food, you consult the birds by reading the omens, and you give this name of omen to all signs that tell of the future.
715
With you a word is an omen, you call a sneeze an omen, a meeting an omen, an unknown sound an omen, a slave or an ass an omen. Is it not clear that we are a prophetic Apollo to you?
720
If you recognize us as gods, we shall be your divining Muses, through us you will know the winds and the seasons, summer,
winter, and the temperate months. We shall not withdraw ourselves to the highest clouds like Zeus, but shall be among you and shall give to you
725
and to your children and the children of your children, health and wealth, long life, peace, youth, laughter, songs and feasts; in short, you will all be so well off,
730
that you will be weary and cloyed with enjoyment.
735
